The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University said that its findings “appear to contrast sharply” with the White House’s announcement that: “Under the President’s direction, for the first time ever the Department of Homeland Security has prioritized the removal of people who have been convicted of crimes in the United States.” TRAC said the findings also are “hard to reconcile with ICE’s recent press statements that claimed that during the past year the agency had targeted a large and increasing number of convicted criminals for deportation.”
TRAC conducted a case-by-case analysis of records covering all proceedings filed in the Immigration Courts. They were obtained from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).